Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Is today Wednesday? I need to make sure. Last week I thought I posted on Wednesday and it turned out it was Thursday. ;o)

OK, to be brutally honest I have no clue what to post today so I will make it an "arroz con mango" type of post. That means a little bit of everything, non-related stuff, all put into one.

I recently visited a lovely bookstore in a converted brick little house (above) that used to be part of an old tobacco & coffee hacienda in the late 1700's. I was SO happy when I found it! I spent a good couple of hours browsing all the books and talking with the owner. Such a nice lady.

I also showed some of the kids in the store a few books I knew they would love, like Flotsam. As soon as I told them a bit about how the book was made, how long it took him to make it (I had seen David Wiesner speak at the NY conference a few years ago) and that the book had NO words.. this really interested them. They sat down on the floor in a circle and started reading it.

I found a few goodies for myself too. One book that I always wanted to get was Lost & Found by Oliver Jeffers. I recentlyposted a video of himon my blog giving some very interesting tips on how to write. This copy I got is in Spanish of course.

He is so brilliant. His art and stories are so simple but every little detail counts. Every shadow, every tilt of a line. Look at it carefully. He is amazing.

I still choke a bit with the spread of the boy and penguin hugging. So simple but so expressive. Seems effortless but says so much. It's like someone whispering a loud statement from the top of their lungs. Does that make sense?

To top it off, my wonderful bookstore day didn't end there. I had the most delicious gelato ever! The flavor was Bacci, which is my favorite Italian chocolate. It's a magnificent little dark chocolate wrapped in star bright foil and filled with hazelnuts bits. Ahhh.. sooo good! A gelato made of Bacci tastes like heaven.

So there you go. My arroz con mango post is over. Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday, and if you can.. try to go to a bookstore and then have some gelato afterwards. I highly recommend it. :oD

2 comments:

Great post Ali....ooooooh that Oliver Jeffers.....I went to your blog and saw the video you posted. He's Irish! Love the irish :D What a talent. How cool to find his book in Spanish, but I guess living in Venezuela that happens every day...:) It's hot here today...may have to take a break to the bookstore and get some gelato too!

It was a special day for me. Sadly there are no quality bookstores here. The children's section is very small and a tad depressing really. So this finding was a real treat for me. There were many great books to look at plus I got to enjoy a fabulous gelato afterwards. A perfect day in my book.